[sizzlingbadger]

Just looking at the fees as my eldest's passport ran out in March and nearly had a heart attack

Fees have gone from 1 April 2007

Adult passport now costs $345.10 ($352.10 inc courier and handling) :eek: was $290 inc courier

Under 16 now costs $220.40 ($227.40 inc courier and handling ) was just under $200

Compare this with NZ passports, $150 for an adult and $80 for a child application, much more like it.

If I knew they were going to put the costs up I would have got his passport earlier. It's gone beyond the joke costing this much just to have a British passport, can't wait to be able to apply for our NZ passports next year.

[incredible hulse]

Just about to renew ours - didn't realise they had gone up :uhoh
Costs 66 pounds if done from the UK so will look at getting them done there and sent over

[Tia Maria]

I've got 1 adult and 1 child to do this year, which means we'll be spending $580 on passports, I don't even want to know the cost of getting the visas put in as well. :(

Just think if we'd had to renew all at the same time it would cost us - $1380 for 2 adults, 3 children, without visas! :wah

Cheers

Tia

[sizzlingbadger]

The visas aren't so bad, to get the IRRV it costs $100 total for all the applicants on the original EOI forms.

Or

$40 (maybe each) to transfer the RRV over.

[zardell]

Just about to renew ours - didn't realise they had gone up :uhoh
Costs 66 pounds if done from the UK so will look at getting them done there and sent over


Can you do that? And if you can (which would save a fortune!) how do you go on about getting the visa's and the RRV's put in?

Julie

xx

[Sam'n'Kelv]

It's gone beyond the joke costing this much just to have a British passport, can't wait to be able to apply for our NZ passports next year.


I thought you had to wait five years, rather than three years, before applying for a NZ passport.

[sizzlingbadger]

Julie, have to send the new passport to immigration along with a form to get the new visas put in, doesn't take to long though which is good.

Sam'n'Kelv, we just got in before they changed citizenship from 3 to 5 years :o I think they changed it on 20/21 April 2005.

[Croft]

Just looking at the fees as my eldest's passport ran out in March and nearly had a heart attack

Fees have gone from 1 April 2007

Adult passport now costs $345.10 ($352.10 inc courier and handling) :eek: was $290 inc courier

Under 16 now costs $220.40 ($227.40 inc courier and handling ) was just under $200

Compare this with NZ passports, $150 for an adult and $80 for a child application, much more like it.

If I knew they were going to put the costs up I would have got his passport earlier. It's gone beyond the joke costing this much just to have a British passport, can't wait to be able to apply for our NZ passports next year.

The new passports are all biometric, hence the increase in cost, though it does seem somewhat steep. Just been reading the British High Commission website and apparently...


Passport fees, in particular, have increased for the following reasons:

* to cover the cost of issuing passports overseas;
* to cover the costs of providing consular assistance/help to British nationals who find themselves in difficulty while overseas;
* to cover the extraordinary consular costs arising from disaster overseas that affect British Nationals. The ECP is retained in the Emergency and Disaster Reserve (EDR) held by the Treasury.

Why is it more expensive to issue passports overseas than in the UK?

* The FCO issues a little over 500,000 ordinary passports each year from 104 locations, (plus emergency and temporary passports from other posts) and must recover the full costs of issuing through the fees
* We cannot match the economies of scale at the Identity and Passport Service, which is able to exploit issuing 10 times as many passports from just a handful of locations
* Consular costs also include the costs for maintaining UK based staff overseas e.g. residential accommodation


I was going to suggest a "Certificate of Entitlement" to indicate your "Right of Abode" to put in your NZ passports next year, but I see that costs $580!!!! More details at the New Zealand British High Commission website (http://www.britishhighcommission.gov.uk/servlet/Front?pagename=OpenMarket/Xcelerate/ShowPage&c=Page&cid=1087554497948).

http://www.fco.gov.uk/Files/kimage/Chapter3%20image1%20copy.JPG

[Sam'n'Kelv]

Sam'n'Kelv, we just got in before they changed citizenship from 3 to 5 years :o I think they changed it on 20/21 April 2005.


Jammer! :laugh

[vixxann]

silly question perhaps but is the only reason you need passports for if you are leaving NZ to go abroad?
Mine and two of my kids are due to expire in two years time but you cannot apply in UK for renewal until 9mths before it expires at earliest.
If we weren't going to plan on leaving NZ do we need an up to date UK passport for any other reason?

[Trigirl]

you could probably live without them if you knew there was absolutely no chance at all of you having to head back to the UK. i would completely hate to be in that position though. i can't imagine something happening to my family back in the UK and me not being able to get on a plane because i didn't have a passport. maybe that doesn't apply to you but its worth considering emergencies.

you can renew your UK passports over here (and get your NZ visas/permits transferred).